Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Blue Ridge Beauty

Sometimes my job is so rough. Like, tragically difficult. Like, SO hard that it just pains me to have to do some of the extraneous aspects of it, like visiting museums to scout for holiday party locations, doing tastings with the caterer to figure out menus, spending a weekend at a resort just to make sure it's appropriate (and fun enough) for a company getaway next spring...

Yeah, it's tough.

Steve, Samantha and I, along with a colleague and her husband, did that messy resort thing two weekends ago. Oh, yes, there was plenty of arm-twisting and cajoling that went on to get us there...

...not...

So we drive to Wintergreen Resort, in the Blue Ridge mountains, about 3 hours from home, through Virginia wine country, past Civil war battlefields, rolling hills and quaint, sleepy towns full of ancient architecture and history.

And it was beautiful.

Samantha woke at 6am in our 2-bedroom condo (conveniently located at the top of the chairlift), in perfect time for me to catch a glimpse of the sun rising over the mountains. Still in the sweats I'd slept in, I grabbed a hoodie, my black All-Stars and my camera, and rushed out to see what I could see before the purple and orange world coming into view before me brightened back to the blue that the range is named for.

Please note, due to the traumatic nature of the job I had to do, I did not include photos of me zip-lining, tubing, bungee-trampolining or doing any of the other terribly joyoustedious activities that I suspect will beperfect horrible for our employees and their families next year. ::wink:: ﻿

On the way back from breakfast a while later, Samantha, under-dressed for the chill in the morning air, borrowed my sweater while we walked, slope-side.﻿

A popular locale for weddings, this one was set up for later in the afternoon. I can think of no more perfect place for the ceremony. ﻿

Butterflies were everywhere. Even on the beach of the lake at the bottom of the mountain.﻿

We had a short vacation there about this time last year. There were several conferences going on. The attendees seemed to be really suffering - not. It was cool and drizzly most of the time so we didn't get to suffer the horrors of zip lines, etc. and the fog was so thick we could barely make the two block trek to the restaurants for some of that delicious local beer. We did make it off the mountain to visit the Waltons museum and a deliciously scroungy bbq place. It is so relaxing up there.